Monday, June 26, 2017

Movie review: The Whole Truth

 
 Attorney Richard is asked to defend a 17-year-old accused of murdering his father, but his client literally refuses to speak. As the trial commences, Richard begins to learn disturbing details about his clients life and enlists the help of a young lawyer to help with the defense.

Keanu Reeves (Ramsey), Renee Zellweger (Loretta), Gugu Mbatha-Raw (Janelle), Gabriel Basso (Mike), Jim Belushi (Boone), Jim Klock (Leblanc), Nicole Barre (Angela), Lucky Johnson (Driver).

The Whole Truth begins nicely with plot setup and character introductions right up front. As the story gets rolling the focus is on the trial with the murder investigation presented as flashbacks during courtroom testimony. We quickly realize there is much more to the story, and that we might be missing information, which can actually be found by carefully watching the film. The result was a surprise ending that many will not see coming and arguably is low quality compared to the detail and finesse found in the rest of the film.

Acting was nicely done with Reeves managing his role very well and delivering nicely. We almost didn't recognize Zellweger who did wonderfully in a role that felt a bit unusual for her. Basso fit his role nicely and though he didn't have much dialogue, was able to express himself in the film visually very well. Belushi was in-type as an abusive husband and did well along with the remainder of the cast.

Camera work, sets, and backgrounds were well detailed and nicely realistic, as expected of a well budgeted film such as this. Dialogue was enjoyable with nice depth and a good fit. Sound and soundtrack were solid.

While some may be frustrated by the twist at the end, or even feel cheated, this is really a nicely done crime mystery. The story is well detailed, technical work is good, and acting is engaging. Mystery fans that enjoy the mystery rather than being spoon-fed the story should enjoy this one.

With a sexual assault scene that contains no nudity, and some foul language, this should be fine for older teens and above.

Released: 2016
Reviewed: 6.7.17
Star rating: 4 out of 5
Genre: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Crime Mystery, Crime Thriller

copyright ©2017 Dave Riedel

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